


Entanglement

by KittenKin



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post Series, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-30
Updated: 2012-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-13 05:17:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenKin/pseuds/KittenKin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurogane finds out that Fai has a thing for having his hair touched...and a thing for Kurogane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Entanglement

It was a measure of how much Kurogane had changed throughout the years spent traveling through various worlds and dimensions that he could now smile easily and without restraint. The smiles were still comparatively rare though, and Fai always felt a thrill when he caught sight of one. The sensation was especially potent when the smile was directed at him, and he taught himself to enjoy the pure and simple pleasure of it instead of ruining those moments with the wish that the smiles could hide something more for him. Fai had changed, too.

Right now, however, Kurogane's smile was pissing Fai off.

"Would you stop grinning and _help me?!_ " he demanded. Fai glared as the dark-haired man snorted and smirked and just _stood there_ in the middle of the forest with his arms crossed, watching as Fai struggled to free himself from the berry bush he'd gotten tangled up in.

"Attained the highest wizardry rank in Celes at an early age..."

"Kuro-sama, it _hurts!_ "

"Can dodge magical attacks and sword strikes even with no depth perception to speak of..."

" _Pleeease?_ "

Kurogane snorted at the absolutely pathetic whimper and finally stepped over to assist, moving easily over fallen trees and uneven ground and through golden beams of sunlight that shimmered across his shoulders and dark hair. Fai went limp in relief and watched admiringly as the man approached, but then tensed when the ninja loosened his dragon-headed sword from its sheath.

"Don't _cut_ it!" he cried out in horror, and Kurogane blinked at the vehemence of the wizard's reaction.

"What?" the ninja asked exasperatedly. "I'm not cutting your damn head off; just some of your hair. You're too tangled up for me to just pull you free, so hold still."

"No don't, please!" Fai begged, and grabbed at Kurogane's wrist to still the man's sword arm. "I'll free myself. Never mind."

"The hell is your problem?" Kurogane asked, sheathing his sword with a soft snick and frowning in mixed irritation and perplexity. "I never would have pegged you as being so vain about something like your hair."

"I'm not vain about it," Fai protested, trying to escape by reaching back and snapping a few branches but failing miserably. "It's just...special." He didn't want to explain the tradition he'd run across early in their journey and adopted for his own that dictated that one should grow their hair out while committing to a cause or the accomplishment of a goal, and cut it only when admitting defeat or celebrating victory. Fai would grow his hair out until Kurogane took him into his arms or turned him away.

Kurogane raised an eyebrow but thankfully didn't pursue the subject, instead shaking Fai off and bringing Ginryuu singing out of its scabbard, brooking no protests or interference this time. A particularly annoyed growl subdued the wizard, who found himself rewarded for his compliance when Kurogane cut him free without sacrificing even a single blond strand. The berry bush wasn't treated with nearly as much respect.

"I suppose now you're going to whine at me until I help you get all that crap out of your hair," Kurogane grumbled, still kneeling nearby as Fai mournfully patted at his head to assess the damage. The years had brought wisdom indeed.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd save me the trouble of thinking up all sorts of outrageous reasons why it's your fault that I got stuck while picking berries," Fai agreed, with real gratitude in his voice. With a long-suffering sigh the dark-haired man gestured for the wizard to turn around and then settled himself more comfortably into the cool, rustling leaves, long legs splayed out on either side of the knotted-up blond.

Fai worked on the left side of his head while Kurogane picked at the right. The ninja grumbled uncomplimentary things for a while but soon left off thinking up insults so that he could concentrate on removing as many thorny twigs as he could with the minimum of blood from his own fingers and badly stifled yelps of pain from the blond. The more hair they managed to clear out and untangle, the more awkward Fai's arms got. Finally he let them fall into his lap after a few pointed flicks from Kurogane's fingers, leaving the back of his head for the ninja to tackle on his own.

The blond just sat, slightly hunched over and playing idly with the leaves scattered around him, a small smile curving his lips. It was a silly sort of situation, but he cherished moments like this where there was nothing important going on; just two friends and a comfortable silence. Fai had decided years ago to be content with what he had instead of stewing with dissatisfaction over what he didn't. It was erring on the side of caution, but their hard-earned friendship was too precious to him to risk. Kurogane was not exactly demonstrative and Fai didn't have enough hope to build on that the ninja preferred men, and that out of all the men within reach, Fai would be one of the top picks for a bedmate. The blond was confident that he was Kurogane's most treasured friend. Potential lover...not so much.

As the danger of getting stabbed with an errant thorn diminished, Kurogane began combing through the sections of freed-up hair with his fingers, and Fai closed his eyes to better revel in the sensation. The ninja had as much control over his custom-built and -fitted artificial arm as he did his flesh-and-bone one, and the hands running through blond locks were equally controlled and careful, making the mage want to purr. He'd always enjoyed having his hair brushed out. There was something particularly nice about it that made him feel - or allowed him to pretend - that he was loved and cared for. Perhaps it was because it was somewhat of a maternal gesture. Perhaps it was because he was simply wired that way.

Whatever it was, it was amazing, and Fai soon gave himself over to the enjoyment of it. As the twig-tugging lessened and the untangling continued, he began to make contented little hums at the measured, careful slide of those strong fingers through his hair. The fact that it was Kurogane doing this to him - _for_ him - was enough to make him want to bottle this feeling up and keep it forever. If it felt this good to just get a friendly finger-comb, what would happen to him if the ninja ever raked those fingers across his skin in passion?

Shivers of pleasure ran down his spine and raised gooseflesh on his arms when he felt fingernails scrape slowly across his scalp, and he began to slowly tilt his head this way and that, seeking more pressure over a particular spot or trying to make a certain caress last longer like he was a cat chasing head scratches. He was practically purring by the time all his tresses were twig-free and smooth again, and when long fingers gently carded all his hair back in a final sweep, raking from his temples all the way to the back of his skull and then pulling through the trailing ends, Fai tipped his head back and moaned.

The hands froze, still woven through the ends of his hair, and Fai froze likewise. Blue eyes blinked open and he stared up at the leafy canopy overhead in dawning horror as his brain floated up through the hazy layers of hedonistic happiness that it had been buried under and gave him a quick replay of how he'd been acting the past few minutes. His heart started hammering in his ribcage and then almost _stopped_ when Kurogane's hands fell away and then immediately repeated the action that had drawn that excruciatingly embarrassing noise from his throat.

He flinched when the ninja's hands laid themselves at the sides of his head again and couldn't repress a shiver and sigh as they caressed along his scalp, this time moving the entire length of his hair until the ends fell against his back once more. Knowing that Kurogane had heard his moan - the whole forest had probably heard it - and knowing that the tone of it had been unmistakeable was mortifying. Horrifying. Sweet merciful God kill me now scary. But having the ninja deliberately repeat the caress was so confusing that Fai got up the courage to slowly, fearfully turn his head around with a question in his eyes.

Fai struggled against the old impulse to flee or make a joke, and dreaded as well the possibility that he'd see understanding and disgust mingled together in Kurogane's face. They were long past that evasive stage of his though and it would have been too deep of an insult to the other man for him to do otherwise now than face his friend and the consequences, be they what they may. Thankfully, that well-loved face was not closed off, haughty and offended, or openly showing anger or distaste either. Instead, Kurogane's expression was all alive with what Fai thought to be curiosity and a bit of uncertainty in that tiny up-quirk of those dark eyebrows, and the interest in those red eyes had the wizard's heart leaping up into his throat. Hope suddenly burned hot and painful in his chest as well as a sharp, icy fear that it would be shattered shortly, and Fai began to have difficulty breathing.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything despite the terrible anxiety of not knowing and just waiting for a reaction. It had taken all his courage just to meet that intent gaze. Mercifully, Kurogane spoke, and after only ~~ten thousand years~~ a few seconds.

"Was that for me, or do you just really like having your hair combed?"

Yay, an easy question. Was Fai lusting after the ninja or was he one of those weirdos with a strange fetish? Trust Kurogane to make things difficult. What made it even more awkward was the answer to the query.

"Both," Fai said after pausing a moment to experience heart failure. "I like having my hair touched, and...I'm in love with you." He kept his eyes locked on the man he'd just confessed to, heart thundering in his chest and a massive stress headache building up behind his eyes, and when Kurogane just gave a thoughtful "oh" he almost hauled off and punched the man.

"Kuro-sama, you can't ask me a question like that and just say ' _oh_ ' when I answer it!" he protested, and probably would have rushed on to say much more than he'd meant to and definitely more than he should have, except that Kurogane suddenly gave a short, barking laugh and looked at him with an expression that on any other man in the world would have been categorized as apologetic.

"Give me a minute, damn it," the dark-haired man said, his voice rich with amusement, and it was so strange to see him responding cheerfully and without any resentment at the impatience and frustration being dumped on him that the wizard blinked and then relaxed, slumping down a bit and settling in to wait quietly as requested.

The tension had barely gone out of his shoulders, however, before a tan hand was reaching up, sliding along his jaw and curling into a fist around the hair at his nape. The warm, rough fingers were firm against Fai's skin and left fiery pinprick sensations in their wake, and he shivered again at the feeling. Having Kurogane grab a fistful of his hair right after he'd confessed through both word and action that he really, _really_ liked having his hair touched was so full of implication and hope that it had Fai trembling. Kurogane bent toward him then, gently pulling at the same time so that Fai was also leaning close, and he felt so dizzy from lack of breath that he impulsively clutched at the ninja's wrist to anchor himself. That was solid. That was real. The rest of it might be a fever dream but that warm, muscular forearm and strong, steady pulse was something he could latch on to for balance.

The wizard was so fixated on getting more than an "oh" as a reply that right up until the moment Kurogane's lips touched his, he was still waiting for the ninja to actually _speak_ a proper response. And then he realized that the hand in his hair and the mouth on his _was_ Kurogane's answer to his confessions, and somewhere in the vast ocean of relief and gratitude and love and joy and lust that welled up and washed over him was a quiet laugh at himself for thinking that the man would respond with words.

His first kiss with Kurogane was a beautiful mix of contradictions. Like Kurogane. The hand at the back of his head was curled in a tight fist, but there was care in the way that it was just tugging lightly and not yanking. There was nothing tentative or hesitant in the kiss either; those lips were pressed firmly against his, surprisingly soft and moving in small nibbling motions against him. And yet while Kurogane had moved first to kiss him and was holding him in place still, it remained just that; their first kiss. Sweet, soft, careful and not moving beyond that. Light, gentle, warm and not growing any more heated.

Fai had been the one to confess and Kurogane had been the one to pull them together, and now the blond began to feel that the ninja was waiting for him, somehow. Waiting for him to say something, or ask for something, perhaps. This was not because the taller was being passive and still by any means. There were two hands curling into the hair at the base of his head now, thumbs softly flicking over his earlobes and teasing at the soft skin just behind his jaw, sending pleasant tingles down his spine. And Kurogane's mouth was not idle either, pulling away, again and again, an infinitesimal distance to brush feather-light over Fai's mouth and then come back down in a gentle nip of slightly parted lips over an as-of-yet untasted section of skin.

The blond reveled in each sensation, and wondered at the measured pace, and had time enough to do plenty of both as the slow, sweet kisses went on and on. In his daydreams and nighttime fantasies, he hadn't imagined the ninja to be one for taking anything slow. His image of Kurogane as a lover had been built upon his image of the man as a warrior; a man of action, decisive and aggressive, wasting little time on preliminaries and going in straight for the kill. Capable of controlled violence on the battlefield that Fai imagined would translate to controlled passion in the bedroom.

If he'd been told that his confession would result in a kiss and then asked to predict how the rest of the late afternoon would speed along, he might have guessed that the kiss would have quickly turned hot and heavy and that he'd have found himself on his back in less than a minute, with a hot-eyed ninja looming over him, all lustful growls and greedy hands. And he wouldn't have minded in the least.

He wouldn't have guessed that Kurogane would be content to just nibble lightly on him and softly brush his hands against his face and in his hair, minute after minute. Fai didn't mind this scenario in the least either, good God no, but he did wonder when the oft-times impatient-for-action warrior would move for more. And as uncertain as he had been about whether or not his romantic feelings were returned, now that they were locked together in a kiss he thought his confidence in being able to read the man was back in full.

One of Fai's hands was still curled around Kurogane's wrist, and he could feel the ninja's pulse kick with every little pleased hum that lingering kisses pulled from the wizard. When Fai's fingers tightened at a particularly delicious shiver running down his spine, the thick fingers coiling and carding through his hair would twitch a bit. And between the soft nips and nibbles were now warm breaths panted across his lips. Fai could feel the tension rise in his old friend and future lover, and wondered if Kurogane were beginning to feel that sweet ache of impatience as much as he himself was, and if so, what the man was waiting for.

While waiting and wondering, Fai grew more and more relaxed and comfortable with all the new sensations. With every repetition of a soft press of lips or gentle scrape of nails across his skin, he grew less distracted with the amazement of being kissed at all, and began to simply enjoy it. Instead of everything being wildly distracting, it all grew to be simply delightful. His quiet gasps of wonder and surprise grew into murmurs of contentment and growing desire, and suddenly he was pressing back into each kiss with increasing confidence, raising a hand to thread his fingers through short black spikes and humming happily into the nonexistant space between them.

It turned out that _that_ was what Kurogane had been waiting for.

The taller man broke the kiss and Fai opened his eyes, gazing hazily up to see red eyes fixed intently, intensely upon him. It sent a thrill through his body and he was moving forward unthinkingly, taking a firmer grip on that muscular neck and letting Kurogane's arm go in order to plant that hand on a strong thigh as he shifted and crawled forward a bit through the whispering leaves. He was too roused now for shyness and besides, what was there left to be shy over? This man knew him, inside and out, knew every bloody detail of his past, knew every secret he'd ever held in his heart now, and was still holding him, kissing him, and smiling down at him with that heated, approving look.

As he closed the distance between them, now kneeling practically in the ninja's lap, Kurogane leaned forward again, but this time his eyes did not close all the way and his lips were parted as well. It wasn't really a kiss, at least not as Fai expected, but more like a nuzzle, hot breaths ghosting over him as skin grazed skin, parted, hovered, missed. He chased after Kurogane's mouth, trying to nip, asking to be kissed, his own half-lidded eyes curious and questioning and utterly enchanted at this strange teasing sort of caress. As he tilted his head up, trying to close the shifting gap, his mouth fell open too and then his lips were finally captured in a moist, warm kiss.

Pale lids fluttered shut and he hummed quietly in mild surprise. Not just at the feel of it and the way it made him feel, but at realizing how Kurogane was leading and coaxing him along. Not demanding, not bossing him around, not rushing or forcing or taking even when Fai would have been more than happy to let him. Kurogane was watching him, gauging reactions, waiting and wanting to move together.

Fai hadn't been wrong to assume that Kurogane would love just like he fought. He had only been mistaken in looking at the man from an opponent's viewpoint rather than an ally's. When you were on the wrong end of that sharp, silvery blade, then yes, Kurogane was fierce and merciless and unyielding, all fangs and fire and flame. But when you were at his side, all that talent and power and ferocity was focused on keeping you safe from all harm. Kurogane would protect him from enemies and even from his own self.

Fai suddenly felt a rush of affection and admiration and gratitude that overwhelmed even the most poignant longing he'd felt while thinking his feelings were unrequited. Long arms were thrown about the ninja's shoulders and Fai pulled himself close, meeting the next open-mouthed kiss more than halfway and putting every bit of passion and desire that the other had roused in him into it. The hands cradling his head clenched, almost spasmed closed into fists, and then they were slithering down the wizard's shoulders and back to crush their bodies together just as their mouths already were.

Being drawn close in such a way raised Fai to his knees and he was suddenly taller, head tucked down and making the ninja throw his head back to keep their lips locked. On impulse he decided to let gravity help them get closer and pushed his knees insistently against the forest floor, toppling them easily over and breaking the kiss as balance deserted them temporarily. The taller had to break an arm away to catch himself on one elbow as he went down, the other arm tight around Fai's waist, and then they were lying in the fallen foliage, breathless and just looking at each other for a moment. Fai was just as wide-eyed as the other, his own actions catching him by surprise.

He became aware of their surroundings again in that still moment; the rich earthy air and cool carpet of leaves, the green-gold canopy overhead with its tattered curtains of sunlight pouring down, faint birdsong and a breeze. And at the center of his universe, the sweat and musk scent of his lover and the hard muscles underneath smooth fabric, bright red eyes that he could drown in and strong arms to anchor him, and hot breath escaping in ragged pants.

Fai was happy, plain and simple, and he felt a wide smile break over his face. He felt flushed and he knew his eyes must be glittering almost madly with all the love and lust he felt for the man underneath him. Kurogane's answering grin and soft caress of Fai's face nearly broke the wizard's heart open from not being able to contain all the emotion welling up in him. With a meaningless murmur of he knew not what, Fai pulled himself close again and devoured the eager lips that awaited him.

He felt overwhelmed and overexcited, and as if he couldn't bear any more happiness or else he might break free and just go running through the forest until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion. He trembled and clung and kissed Kurogane almost desperately, unable to get close enough to satisfy himself. Fai felt a chuckle reverberate in that massive chest he was laying atop and then with a quick tensing of muscles for his only warning, was flipped over onto his back. The wizard found himself neatly pinned from head to toe and loving every bit of it. The ground cradled him and Kurogane was pressing down on him with his body and enclosing him in his arms and _that_ was what he had wanted.

Fai also wanted very much to just press right up into another kiss, but Kurogane pulled away, and then pulled even further away with a grin when the wizard's eager mouth strained upwards, trying to make contact. Blue eyes narrowed, and Fai's mouth was too busy panting, so those eyes just accused him silently of being mean. The glittering glare faded soon enough, however, as they took in the sight of Kurogane gazing down with that new look that left the shorter man utterly breathless in a way that had nothing to do with the weight on his chest and everything to do with the fondness visible in that open expression.

The blond felt his own expression melt into an almost pained, yearning one and that smug grin on the ninja's face softened as well, and when Fai reached up to touch Kurogane's cheek he ended up missing because of the way the taller quickly leaned in to continue their interrupted kisses. Kurogane closed in with lips parted and Fai met him in the same way with his head tilted just so, a quick learner made a natural genius through extreme motivation. Lightly trembling fingers carded quickly through black hair, pressing hard against scalp when they couldn't find purchase in the short spikes. Kurogane gave a low growl that Fai felt from his teeth all the way down to his toes, and when he moaned into the kiss at the first wet touch of a tongue against his, he felt the ninja shiver.

Pinned so well between an insistent mouth and heavy body above and firm hands and the ground below, Fai couldn't arch up into the kiss, so he simply pulled harder with his hands and made the heated kiss bruising instead. He pressed back with his own tongue immediately, noisy at the slick heat and intimacy of it all. The feeling of being loved and desired burned through whatever was left of hesitation and lust swept even the ashes away.

He writhed in what little wiggle room was left to him and Kurogane growled. Pale hands clawed and clutched at every bit of skin and shirt they could get at and Kurogane's arms tightened around him. Fai squirmed until he freed one leg and hooked his ankle high around his lover's thigh and Kurogane settled himself further between Fai's legs, crooking one long limb under the thigh that Fai had clamped against the ninja's hip. They tangled together, limbs and tongues and mindless noises, dragging each other down faster and faster from that laughing, light exchange of affection into a more primal state of need and want.

Kurogane pressed down and Fai arched up and then suddenly they were both tearing away from each other's mouths, all tensed muscles and gritted teeth and desperately clutching hands. Kurogane made a strangled noise into Fai's neck and the wizard gasped up at the rustling trees, eyes wide and seeing nothing. Fai unlocked first and arched up again, hands raking across the small of Kurogane's back and heels digging into the debris littering the forest floor. The dark-haired man growled something unintelligible and drove his hips down hard against him and this time Fai snapped his head back and cried out.

They'd switched over from sweet romance to greedy grappling somewhere along the way, and as if satisfied that Fai was going to match his desire at every overture, Kurogane no longer held back and waited for his lover to catch up, holding his hand and tugging him gently along. Instead, they raced. There was nothing cautious left in the way they explored and experimented; it was two adults who'd both done this before but never with each other, knowing what to do and just needing to find out which way was best with this current partner. They understood the basic need driving them both and were confident that the minor details would work themselves out along the way.

The jolts of pleasure shooting up Fai's spine and exploding in his skull seemed to be having the same devastating effect on his lover. Fai reveled in the noises Kurogane made as they rocked together and didn't try to tame his own reactions, simply letting desire wash over him and carry him away. He didn't care about anything at the moment; only this, only the closeness and heat, and getting as much of it as he could. Lust coiled and burned and built within his core and Fai was growing greedy for more. His hands were tugging at shirt tails and collar and he realized he was murmuring against Kurogane's lips instead of just gasping and groaning, and it was a moment before he could rise up out of his mental fog to understand what Kurogane was saying back.

"Mmm, more," he hummed against warm, wet lips, and drew his hands up Kurogane's sides, delighting in the feel of muscles and bone under smooth skin and crumpling the edges of the ninja's shirt away.

"Ahh, gods, want you." It was low and growly against his ear and Fai shivered and sucked in air through clenched teeth.

" _Yes_ ," he hissed, and stopped pulling at the collar of Kurogane's shirt to worm an insistent hand between them, bucking a bit to make room so he could get at the ninja's belt. He was so focused on his shifted priorities that he didn't understand the throaty "wait" that he heard, spoken right against his ear, but the hand that grabbed his wrist caught his attention and he opened his eyes to look up in utter confusion.

"What?" Fai asked, his words bewildered and breathless. "I thought..."

Sweat beaded on the ninja's forehead and he looked almost as half as flushed as Fai felt, and considering the difference in their skin tones, that was saying quite a bit. Frown lines marred the tan brow and Kurogane shook his head and didn't say anything at first, as if needing to gather his thoughts and breath.

"We need to stop..." were the first words out of the ninja's mouth, and Fai blinked. If this had been the dark, piney forest in Yama he might have laughed and broken away and Kurogane would have been furious with him. If he had been lying on the cold concrete in Infinity he might have snarled and lashed out at the man and they would have ended up having extremely angry sex. If they had been grappling with each other while struggling to heal in Nihon he might have sighed and curled up into himself and they would have been stiff and stilted with each other all over again. But it was today.

"I _will_ kill you if you stop now," Fai said with a quirked eyebrow, and when Kurogane broke into a brief laugh, thought to himself that he hadn't really meant it as a joke.

"You really want to do it like this?" Kurogane asked, mouth curved in a lop-sided smile and coming up on his elbows to look fondly down at the unamused wizard. "In the dirt, I don't have anything on me we can use and the kid and bun might even come looking for us. And even if they don't, you want to walk - well, limp - back into town all sticky and sweaty?"

Fai pouted, earning another chuckle from his too-practical lover, but admitted to himself that the taller man was probably right. Damn him. Kurogane smiled ruefully and wisped some hair out of Fai's eyes with one hand while continuing along his thought trail, voice lower now and serving to smooth out the expression on the wizard's face.

"I want a bed, and privacy, and plenty of time for that," Kurogane murmured. "We'll have other opportunities for quick tumbles; if we don't find them I'll _make_ them, but first times should be special." Kurogane leaned in as he spoke the last few words, and as their lips pressed together in a soft, almost chaste kiss, Fai silently chided the man.

_Oh, you really shouldn't have been so sweet, Kuro-sama. There's no way I'm letting you go now._

Fai slid his hands up the broad chest hovering over him and then let them rest lightly on the man's shoulders. After a few short pecks and nips, Kurogane pulled away again, but before he could suggest anything so stupid as getting up and walking back to the inn, Fai spoke. He supposed it made sense that he himself, having grown up in castles and learned the futility of fancy trappings when simple things like peace and honesty were missing, wouldn't place so much emphasis on what he thought of as frills, while Kurogane would assign so much more importance to tradition and ceremony. It was time to expand the ninja's cultural horizons, however.

"It doesn't have to be properly planned and leisurely to be special, Kuro-sama," he said, smiling and tipping his head slightly to lean into the tan hand lying in the leafy debris next to him. Kurogane apparently thought he was asking for a caress, like a big lazy cat, because that hand came up to begin slowly combing through his bangs, sweeping them to the side and ending each motion in a light brush of knuckles against a fair, flushed cheek.

"Lay me down on your cloak, over all these leaves," Fai murmured. "I grew up in a world of ice and snow. The idea of being naked with you under the trees with the sunlight crawling over us _is_ special to me. And I have something we can use."

He kept smiling up at Kurogane but didn't answer the unasked question expressed in those raised eyebrows and curious red eyes. At least not in words. He dropped one of his hands away from Kurogane's shoulders, caught the tan fingers hovering over his jawline, and then turned his head to slowly and deliberately draw Kurogane's index finger into his mouth.

He'd intended to keep his eyes on the other man to gauge reactions, but his lids fell closed as he sealed his lips around the suddenly tense finger and then slowly pulled his head back, dragging his tongue along the rough skin. A pleased hum vibrated in his throat like a purr as he enjoyed the taste and texture, and it occurred to Fai that he didn't need sight at all; he could hear the sharp inhalation and sense the tension, and he couldn't help but break into a smile as he gave Kurogane's fingertip a quick lick and sharp nip.

Fai went after a second finger, but closed his mouth into a pout when the hand was withdrawn. The pout broke back into a smile, however, when he saw Kurogane flip open the fastenings of his cloak.

"Kuro-sama wasn't too hard to convince," he said a bit smugly, and then laughed at the reply.

"Shut up," Kurogane growled through a toothy grin. "And I'm just taking it off; we're using _yours_ to lie on." Fai surged up to kiss the ninja again, making the man flinch and growl when white teeth hit against dark lips because Fai couldn't stop laughing from pure happiness overload.

"I don't care," he murmured in between breathy laughs and apologetic kisses. "As long as it's like this, facing each other with you over me...in me." He laughed again at the way Kurogane shivered and then growled at him for the laugh, all dominant male and mock-offended pride and warm affection. God, how he loved this man.

"Get up," Kurogane commanded as he lifted himself up and away, and Fai obeyed with alacrity but not much efficiency, pulling himself up by grabbing fistfuls of the ninja's shirt and then taking advantage of renewed proximity to steal another kiss. They ended up back in the loam and leaves, playful pecks turning into passionate kisses. Hands went roaming and bodies were rolled so that first one and then the other would be on top, clothing getting left behind in their wake. Kurogane's cloak went first, then Fai's, and then there was a bit of bucking to get belts all the way off. The friction from _that_ resulted in a crash of mouths together and Fai's long vest practically getting ripped off of his body.

Kurogane's shorter, more fitted jacket required greater finesse and they finally broke apart, breathing hard and covered in leaf-litter. Red eyes were locked onto blue as they sat up, Fai stubbornly remaining planted in Kurogane's lap and the both of their gazes glittering with affection and amusement and desire, all of it made more pure and piercing from knowing these feelings were mutual. That knowledge made all the difference and Fai felt free and happy and hopeful as never before.

They got Kurogane's jacket off without breaking eye contact, and there was something intimate in the way they just stared into each other's eyes that was raising gooseflesh on the wizard from head to toe. His lips parted now in shaky breaths instead of bright silvery laughter, though they were still curved in a smile. Fai's shirt, which fastened up the front, took a bit more dexterity and concentration to part and remove without looking down at the tiny closures. The fact that they both kept stopping to just lightly brush their fingers together or trade a caress of cheek or lips delayed them further. The soft fabric was finally shrugged off and tossed away to leave the blond shivering slightly in the damp forest air.

The shivers weren't due to the coolness of the air, but the heat in those red eyes and the way calloused palms slowly slid up pale, lean arms. Kurogane caressed his way up slender shoulders, ghosted over sharp collarbones and then pressed firmly over the smooth skin and lithe muscles of Fai's torso. For all his slenderness, the wizard was very fit, and Kurogane appreciatively took his time getting better acquainted with all the planes and curves and dips of his lover's chest and midriff. It felt wonderful, and Fai was more than happy to just let the dark-haired man explore and admire, but he began to want to do some admiring of his own and began to playfully get in Kurogane's way as he reached down and started tugging the ninja's black turtleneck upwards.

After the exchange of a few growls and laughs, the two new lovers had the turtleneck nearly off, bunched around the ninja's neck like some shapeless scarf. It would be the work of a second to simply duck his head and pull the garment off, but they were both hesitant, unwilling now to break eye contact. They were being silly, and knew it, and showed it in the little chuckles and wry looks they were exchanging, and yet...and yet...

Kurogane solved the issue by curling his left hand around Fai's neck and gently pulling him in for a kiss. They were both perfectly amenable to giving up this strange and wonderful intimacy of sustained eye contact for the sake of a kiss, though it continued for the first few thudding heartbeats of the kiss itself. Once their eyes finally closed, Kurogane grabbed the recalcitrant turtleneck and pulled it off, pulling away from Fai's lips for just the split second necessary to get the shirt over his head, and then reconnecting their mouths while he tossed the garment away.

Kurogane pressed Fai's head closer to part the wizard's lips and Fai's fingers went exploring, letting the ninja control the kiss while he himself let his hands roam at will over all the newly exposed skin. It was thrilling to get to know the ninja's sculpted body in this new way, working only by touch. Fingertips skimmed lightly over skin, raising shivers that Kurogane didn't quite manage to suppress, and then pressed down more firmly to enjoy the feel of strong muscles flexing as his lover moved. Fai delighted in the growls that rang against his teeth when he raked his nails slowly across broad shoulders, and the more pronounced shiver and the way twin nubs of flesh hardened under his softly teasing fingers as he lightly skimmed his way down the ninja's chest.

Kurogane had never had much patience with Fai's teasing, and soon got his revenge by grabbing the blond roughly about the waist and tugging upwards, raising the man onto his knees slightly. Fai's giggle at having gotten this reaction out of the stoic man was cut off with a gasp as the ninja set his teeth at the juncture of neck and shoulder, soothing the light bite with a long rasp of his tongue almost immediately. Slender fingers that had been so playfully intent on tickling and teasing along tan skin now curled themselves helplessly in dark hair, and Fai's head fell back with a soft cry as the ninja began claiming new territory across the wizard's chest with teeth and tongue.

Blond hair that had been allowed to grow now for years slithered off of shivering shoulders and fell in a pale, shimmering curtain across the large hands that were running slowly up and down Fai's back. Kurogane felt the ends tickling at his fingers and slowly felt his way up the wizard's spine before weaving his fingers up into the silky mass, and chuckled against Fai's collarbone at the moan that vibrated up out of the chest he was nibbling his way over. And when the ninja fisted handfuls of golden locks, then tugged lightly to bend the wizard's head back so that he could press a hot, wet kiss against the pale neck thus exposed, Fai got very noisy indeed.

Each of the blond's shuddering, gasping reactions to the hands carding through his hair and mouth warm on his skin roused Kurogane to greater passion, and soon it was desire stacked on top of desire and overwhelming them both. Fai unthinkingly rocked his hips against the ninja and threw his head back with a strangled groan at both the sensation and the way Kurogane growled at him and pulled Fai even harder against him.

"Please," the wizard gasped, too lost in his passion to manage more than that, but the ninja seemed to understand. Strong hands grabbed him almost roughly and then he was being laid down so quickly it was almost like falling. He landed on the cloak he'd shed a little while ago, his head cradled by a large hand and the landing cushioned by a thick layer of leaves underneath the fabric. Kurogane followed him down and Fai arched against his rustling bed as that muscular body draped over him, seeking contact any way he could.

What he wordlessly asked for, Kurogane gave him, pressing him down into the ground with mouth on mouth, chest against chest, hands tangled in his hair and pressing at the small of his back to increase the already mind-blowing friction of groin against groin. Fai writhed, unable to stay still for even one second, almost clawing cat-like at the ninja and wriggling his legs out from underneath his lover to clamp his thighs tight along the man's hips. Kurogane rocked against him and the heat coiling in his gut suddenly became unbearable.

He could barely pull together coherent thoughts among the blazing sparks exploding in his brain and ricocheting off of his skull, but managed to hold onto one idea at least; they were wearing way too many pieces of clothing. His language skills were lost in the leaves somewhere, possibly lying next to his shirt, so the wizard slithered his fingers down Kurogane's side and then dexterously slid them under the man's waistband to give a few pointed tugs. The dark-haired man got the hint immediately and they were up again in seconds, getting in each other's way almost as often as they provided assistance in stripping down.

They had a brief battle over who, exactly, was to have the privilege of undoing Fai's trousers, which led to the wizard being smashed right back down into the ground and subdued with a very thorough kiss. The fact that the removal of the aforementioned trousers was brought to a sudden halt by the realization that the blond still had his boots on led to an adrenaline-fueled giggle fit and some more mock-offended grumbling. Each faux-snarly comment from the ninja as he unbuckled and tugged at the fitted footwear only pushed the wizard further into helpless laughter, and by the time Kurogane got them both bare as the days they'd been born, Fai was wiping away tears.

After the gasping wheezes were successfully choked down into a string of hee's interlaced with hiccups and then finally quelled entirely, Fai looked up from his impromptu bed to find Kurogane looming over him with a fondly exasperated look. Clearly his lover thought he had at least a few screws loose. The blond smiled, satisfied somehow even while still aching with need, and softly touched Kurogane's face.

"I love you," he murmured quietly, on impulse, his smile widening with the happiness of being able to speak such a phrase to this man. He was content to just say it, now. The day before, all he'd wanted in the world was to hear Kurogane say those words to him. Now, it was enough just to be able to say them himself, freely, without any fear of the ninja's reaction. It would be more than nice to hear them said in return, of course, but Fai tried not to be greedy. He knew that the taller man was much more reserved and--

"I love you too."

...oh. Fai stared, the last of the giggles effectively killed by the surprise, almost shock, of hearing the gruff, taciturn warrior speak the words so calmly. There was no follow-up quip in a derisive tone, no trace of embarrassment, and those red eyes were as steady as the voice. He said it much like he would have said that the sun was up, or that it had been good to see Watanuki-kun again, or that the alcohol Fai had managed to sneak past Mokona had a fine flavor and bite. Later, Fai would realize that it was so simple to understand; Kurogane was honest and straightforward, and had no problem speaking his mind. For now, however, he simply lay back and gazed up in awestruck wonder for a while.

The faint smile hovering about Kurogane's lips grew more pronounced at the wizard's dumbstruck state. Crimson orbs remained locked with blue for a long while, and then they began roaming, taking in the flushed cheeks and dropped-open mouth with amusement quirking one side of his mouth up. The ninja lightly combed his hands through the fair hair fanning out across the white fabric of Fai's cloak, one after the other and teasing a languid moan from the blond, while his gaze grew heated again while continuing its downward journey, crawling avidly over the wizard's neck.

The heat in Kurogane's eyes renewed the spark in Fai's, and the wizard grabbed at his lover's right wrist to pull that teasingly caressing hand away from his hair. Fai took the ninja's fingers into his mouth without preamble, and grinned briefly at the shudder and low growl his ministrations produced. Leisurely teasing was over, however, and he didn't waste any time in slow, leisurely licks. His clever tongue was good for much more than talk, and he twined it about his lover's thick fingers, shivering himself at the thought that they would soon be inside of him.

Kurogane was draped over him again, worrying at the wizard's slender neck with his teeth and lips, and suddenly soon wasn't soon enough. Fai let go of those now-slicked fingers with a gasp at the next press of their bodies together, and as soon as he had, they were pulled away rather hastily. As if impelled by the same impatience that had gotten a hold of the blond, Kurogane didn't bother tickling his way down the other man's side, but went straight for the goal. Wet fingers cooled by the air slid between Fai's buttocks, making the breath stutter in his lungs, and Kurogane pulled away from nibbling at Fai's neck to give him a seeking, questioning look as he set one fingertip to circling and teasing and pressing but not pressing in.

"Hurry," Fai gasped, and before the word had blown away on the breeze, Kurogane complied. The blond bucked and gasped again as he was breached, then pulled his lover in for a greedy kiss when that invading finger stilled. He swallowed up any silly questions the ninja might be thinking of asking pertaining to whether Fai truly wished to continue or if he was ready for this. For God's sake, the way they were pressed together, Kurogane had to be able to feel exactly how _ready_ Fai was. Fai could certainly appreciate the _extent_ of his lover's eagerness, the _length_ and _breadth_ of it so to speak, and it sent tingling thrills along every inch of his skin.

Sure, they'd seen each other naked before. Mokona had dumped them into open water more than once, and there had been some miserable times when they had to hike it through punishing downpours, so Fai had been cursed-blessed with plenty of opportunities to surreptitiously ogle the ninja's bare form as they gathered around campfires to dry off. But he'd never seen him like _this_ , and it wasn't just the ninja's state of arousal; it was arousal for _him_ and that made all the difference in the world. Kurogane was hard for _him_ , Kurogane wanted _him_ , Kurogane _loved him_.

Fai made a choked noise, overwhelmed by it all of a sudden, but the way he attacked Kurogane's mouth only increased in passion. The dark-haired man made a interrogatory noise even while he swept his tongue along Fai's teeth, and the wizard answered by raking his nails harder against Kurogane's scalp as he pressed their mouths closer together and hiking his legs higher, knees pressed tremblingly against one hip and curled around a muscular arm that flexed and rolled as Kurogane worked in him. Fai moaned into the kiss, adding a wordless plea to his other silent demands, then broke out of the kiss to press his face against his lover's rugged jaw and gasp as a second finger joined the first.

"Gods, you're tight," Kurogane rasped, sounding nearly as breathless as Fai felt. "You _have_ done this before?" The tone held no accusation, no disappointment. It was more of a "please tell me you've done this before because needing to go that slow might kill me" statement begging confirmation, and the next gasp to come rolling out of Fai's throat turned into a breathy chuckle.

"It's just been--nnh! a while," Fai answered with an easy smile against Kurogane's cheek. The details seemed unimportant just now, both his own and Kurogane's. What mattered was their current lover, not past partners. What mattered was that they had finally taken that one last step to close the remaining distance between them, and were now one. That they hadn't yet joined their bodies seemed unimportant as well; Fai felt that they were already together, already belonging to each other.

The mage was all purrs and groans and soft gasps as they tangled together and the ninja could feel the way Fai was trying to cooperate and relax while simultaneously trying to drive the dark-haired man distracted. There were deep breaths and shivering sighs as Kurogane pressed in and pulled away, and the lean limbs clinging about his body alternately tensed and relaxed as he twisted and moved his fingers. In between all the delicious mewls and murmurs were countless kisses from the blond; tiny pecks peppered across his jawline, simple little kisses vibrating with a contented hum, gasping kisses that were more urgent than elegant, and a few light bites as well, the first one hesitant because Fai hadn't been certain whether it would elicit a growl of arousal or annoyance.

It seemed like they couldn't do anything - even this - without at least a little bit of teasing and tussling. Kurogane was very good at multi-tasking, but even _his_ preternatural focus was shredding under the dual tasks of being as careful as he could in preparing his lover to receive him while also kissing the blond senseless, not to mention Fai being his usual unhelpful self. The wizard seemed to be happily throwing all of his efforts into distracting the ninja from what he was doing by proving that his tongue was indeed clever, setting his nails into skin in ways that made Kurogane growl, and adding sensual rolls of his hips.

Kurogane, being Kurogane, retaliated.

It might have been quite a while since Fai was last bedded, but the body remembered, and the wizard's efforts to relax and open to him soon allowed the ninja to press his fingers in deeper and harder. He stroked along that silky heat, prying open his eyes to watch the play of expressions across his lover's face, thrilling to the way those usually oh-so-composed features were twisting in pleasure, a heady flush pricking color into those smooth cheeks and sweat darkening those sunsilk strands that were always falling across the man's forehead. An increase in pace and force had called a halt to those demanding, distracting kisses and Kurogane leaned in to do some additional distracting of his own, drawing a series of blood-blooms to the surface of Fai's pale neck while continuing those deep, seeking caresses with his hand.

The wordless murmurs spilling from Fai's lips were growing more urgent, more pleading, and the movement of his hips underscored the _want_ that was consuming them both. The blond was becoming increasingly uncontrolled, his movements more like instinctive reactions rather than deliberate attempts to rouse and seduce, and ironically Kurogane found _that_ even more alluring than Fai's most sensual, calculated caress. To know that he could drive this complex, complicated man wild was dragging him along for the dizzying ride, and when a particular press of his fingers made the blond practically convulse and throw his head back with a loud cry, Kurogane would have smirked if he hadn't had his teeth gritted hard in an effort to hold himself back.

Relaxation went right out the window, but eagerness more than made up for the lack, and Kurogane had to hold on tight to the remnants of his shattered self control in order to keep from just pulling his fingers away and replacing them with his arousal in one swift, hard thrust. What made it even more difficult to refrain was the thought that the blond probably wouldn't mind it all that much if he did, if the wanton way Fai was pressing down onto his fingers was any indication.

The overwhelming pleasure coiled low in Fai's gut and shooting fireworks up his spine to explode behind his eyes turned the quick-witted wizard into an incoherent mess. Noises were issuing from him but while he used every vowel and a good half of the consonants available to him, the sounds did not combine to form any known word in Valerian, Celesian or Nihongo. The sensations blindsided him, swept him off his feet and carried him away, and when Fai finally regained a bit of self-awareness and breath, one thought burned in his brain and consumed all his thoughts and will.

_Now._

His first attempt to speak intelligibly produced nothing better than a few strangled groans and something barely recognizable as "Kuro-sama". Gulping down a breath, Fai tried again, and with more success.

"Ngh, oh God stop, stop," he begged, clutching desperately at Kurogane's arm and writhing to get away from those too-good fingers. The part of him driven by pure lust and need shrieked in protest as his lover stilled momentarily, wanting those mind-numbing waves of pleasure to just continue crashing over him until he was lost, but what Fai really wanted was to drown together. On that thought, he pulled with his free hand at the back of the ninja's neck and curled up off his cloak to plead against the man's lips.

"In me, now, _please_ ," he murmured, punctuating each demand with a clumsy kiss. His begging almost backfired on him as his words made Kurogane crush their lips together and smash Fai back into their rustling mattress of leaves. Those thick, tormenting fingers were already buried in him to the knuckles but Kurogane suddenly _pressed_ with a twist of his wrist, and this time Fai fairly screamed into his lover's mouth.

It took an eternity for both of them to catch their breath, and Kurogane was the first to speak.

"Sure?" he asked, coherent but not exactly grammatical. "You're still--"

" _Now_ ," Fai interrupted, and the almost annoyed tone of his voice made Kurogane huff in amusement.

"Please," Fai continued, wild with impatience and desire. He'd waited _years_ ; he couldn't wait another minute. "We can do slow and sweet later. I need you."

The hand withdrew at this declaration, and before the shiver the act produced could fade entirely away Fai set his hands against those broad shoulders and shoved. The ninja gave a startled grunt but moved as rudely requested, falling away and onto his back. And then it was Fai's turn to make the man beg if he could, as he rolled cat-quick onto his hands and knees and pounced on his prey.

He'd fed off of this man before during the time he'd been a vampire, and there'd been a dark sensuality to it. Kurogane's blood had been like wine and chocolate and sex on his tongue and he'd always been desperately turned on by the intimacy of his lips against tan skin and being able to feel the ninja's heartbeat against his mouth. It should have made putting that distance between them that much harder, but instead it made it easier.

That their first "kiss" was Fai taking life from the man's veins, and that the lust fanned into life between them was bloodlust had underscored the idea that there would never be any real love between them. This mockery of desire, simple hunger, was all that could be. Kurogane loved him no more than a man would love a stray cat he was forced to feed, and the "cat" showed no more gratitude than any feral beast would do for the stranger he was forced to accept food from. And that was all there was to it.

At least, that's what he'd thought back then.

Now he knew better, and as he licked his way up his lover's shaft he got a wicked thrill out of the ninja's teeth-clenched, white-knuckled, curse-laced reaction. Fai was literally drooling over this prize specimen of manliness that was for him, all for him, and it didn't take long for him to wet his lover's aching length. He indulged in it for a minute longer anyway, soaking all his senses in the moment.

The strangled groans were music in his ears, and the sight of the stoic man reduced to this needy state burned against the back of Fai's eyelids after his lids fluttered shut as he slid his lips over and along that impressive length. He could have purred at the feel of tense muscles jumping under his palms as he held his lover's hips down and the musky, animal scent filling his nostrils. He ran his tongue slowly and firmly against that thick column of flesh and when he felt it pulse with need and tasted a salt drop from the tip Fai decided that they'd both had enough of waiting.

Kurogane seemed to be of the same opinion, for as soon as Fai separated himself from his feast he found himself grabbed by the arms and tossed unceremoniously back onto his cloak. The breath caught in his throat and he locked gazes with the ninja as Kurogane lowered himself over his lover, and then they just stared for a heartbeat, communing.

_want you need you love you take me make me yours_

The breath caught in Fai's throat, snagged on love and lust and endearment and awe as Kurogane slowly leaned in to press a simple, almost chaste kiss on his lips. Of course, how _chaste_ a kiss could really be when the man delivering it was buck naked and nudging at his lover's body with an arousal that dripped with need and said lover's saliva was debatable. That tanned, toned body didn't move all that slow, but it seemed to take an age for the ninja to crawl in closer, making Fai shiver at the way his lover's body brushed against his thighs. The feel of the man's erection sliding intimately along his skin, wet and cool and burning hot, upgraded the shivers into an all-out tremble with a needy whimper thrown in for good measure.

The pathetic little sound was swallowed up by a warm mouth descending over his, and Fai grew dizzy even while flat on his back at every sensation assaulting his senses. Kurogane was devouring his mouth in a sensual kiss and tangling one hand in his hair, while the other hand slid along a trembling thigh to hike it up over his hip. The blond obligingly threw his other leg around the ninja, drawing the man closer and raising his own hips higher, moaning and exulting and dying at the way Kurogane's member was hot and hard against him. They were so close and he was so ready and why in the world were they not joined yet?!

His lover broke slightly away from their kiss as the hand that was curled under Fai's knee slid back up his thigh and then slipped between them, and the blond murmured unintelligibly against Kurogane's lips as he felt the ninja position himself. The feel of that rigid organ nudging up against him made the blond automatically tense, but that made his lover pause in turn, and that was just flat-out unacceptable. Fai let his breath out in a shaky sigh and struggled to force some of the tension in his muscles to drain away. The last seconds before his body finally yielded to the slowly increasing pressure seemed to span an eternity, and Fai had to remind himself to breathe lest he black out.

Kurogane's expression was incredible; red eyes burning with intensity under a brow furrowed in concentration, a tendon jumping in his jaw as he clenched his teeth, and pulse hammering just under the surface of tanned skin. The sight of all that fire contained - barely, just barely - for him made Fai think that he could fall in love all over again at that instant, and then he lost the ability to think at all as he was finally pierced.

He paid for his impatience in a sharp sting as he unthinkingly bucked his hips, forcing the blunt tip of his lover's arousal further in. His hiss of pain and Kurogane's equally pained groan at needing to hold back mingled together in the tiny space between their mouths, and then they were both gasping and grasping at each other with sweat-slick hands. Fai clung like a drowning man to those muscular shoulders and Kurogane held him together and held him down, one hand curled into his hair and a sweaty forehead pressed against his, and the other hand gripping a slim hip firmly to keep it still. Warm lips nuzzled at his own panting mouth in a series of preludes to a kiss, and then the dark-haired man was murmuring against his lips, that beloved voice low and rough, breathless and gentle.

"Talk to me," Kurogane said, after years of telling the wizard to shut up. It had become so much of a habit, in fact, that he had sometimes said it when Fai hadn't even been speaking. Fai complied with the reverse order now, only pausing long enough to take a deep, shuddering breath, never even thinking of teasing or poking fun.

"I'm fine," he replied softly, feeling his own breath bouncing off of his lover's hovering lips and relishing the closeness. Another steadying breath, and then he tightened his legs a bit. "Keep going."

Kurogane gave him a quick nip at this breathless command and then drew his mouth away, opening his eyes and fixing Fai with an intent gaze as he slowly rocked his hips. The blond inhaled in jerky little mini-breaths as his lover pressed in, blue eyes and red never leaving each other for a moment, and when the breath in Fai's throat suddenly caught, the ninja stilled again.

Fai made a noise of mingled desire and hurt and impatience for more, knowing - hoping, at least - it would be easier once they got past a certain point. Kurogane would give him what he asked for, but Fai was having an excruciating time remembering how to talk. The wizard could form words in his mind but all that was coming out of his mouth at the moment were little tight-lipped mmh's and little breathless gasps.

Focus.

"Don't stop," Fai breathed, and that was all that managed to make it from his brain to his mouth, though he'd wanted to say much more. _Don't stop, please. I need you, so much. Go slow, but just go. You won't hurt me and even if you do, do you think I'll care? Take me, just take me. Make me yours. Make me happy. Make me scream._

When words wouldn't come Fai used his body instead, to even better effect than the scattered blond knew. The crimson-eyed warrior was adept at reading intent in the body language of an enemy, and it proved a skill that adapted itself well to the bedroom as well as the battlefield. Kurogane felt long legs tense around him to draw him closer, and even as Fai squirmed to impale himself further onto his lover, the wizard's breath hitched and one pale hand was tense against the ninja's arm as if ready to push back and call a halt if it became necessary.

Kurogane clenched his teeth together and focused as well as he could on all those little signals; eye contact and the way it broke, breath and how it stopped, minute movements that Fai made and all the little moves Fai kept himself from making. Red eyes were kept open with an effort even as sweat rolled down Kurogane's face to sting at them, looking for all the things his lover couldn't find words to say. Fai's legs were urging him but he'd never really let the wizard push him around and he wasn't going to start now; Kurogane braced himself and let his hips be drawn forward slowly, but he resisted every impatient or uncontrolled tug despite the amazing heat and pleasure crashing over him.

The desire to just slam himself home in one brutal thrust was almost painfully strong, and self control was also in increasingly short supply the deeper their connection became. Soon Kurogane was panting against Fai's lips, as winded from his struggle to keep the pace measured and careful, as the wizard was from his attempts to adjust quickly and hurry them along. Each slow slide of skin on skin and every tightening of his lover's opening around him sent starbursts of pleasure shooting up his spine, and it seemed to be having much the same effect on Fai if all that writhing and gasping was any indication.

A heart-stopping eternity later, Kurogane was fully sheathed in his lover and they ground to a shuddering, gasping halt together. The dark-haired man rested his forehead on the wizard's, red eyes closed while he struggled to remain still and even out his breathing. Muscular arms were enclosing Fai snugly, holding him together while he trembled and clung and tried to relax. They waited together in a soft, whispery silence for Fai's body to adjust. The ceaseless breeze stirred the treetops and set the leaf-littered forest floor to rustling while their labored breaths sounded closer by their ears. After a few moments thudded by on racing heartbeats, Kurogane opened his eyes and pulled back slightly, nosing at his lover's face briefly before speaking.

"Say something," the ninja prompted, much like he'd requested Fai to talk to him earlier.

Fai blinked up at him, blue eyes a little unfocused as he had to gather up his thoughts which had scattered like startled songbirds long ago. One hand slipped down from about a broad shoulder to trace a line down the side of Kurogane's face as he cast about for words and ideas, usually so easily to hand and now darting about like quick, slippery fish.

"It was a long time ago, but do you remember the song we heard in the Clover bar, the first time we visited Edonis' Fairy Park?" the blond finally asked, voice a bit wispy and wavery as he tried to focus on his train of thought instead of the slowly ebbing pain from their joining. Red eyes shifted away as Kurogane had to rifle through his memories, and finally the ninja shook his head and looked back.

"No, I don't, but I remember what you said about it," he replied, earning him a surprised look from Fai that settled into a soft, happy smile. "That you'd always been like the person in the song, waiting for someone to take you away."

"Yes," the wizard confirmed. "I was mostly thinking of Valeria and that valley, but also my current situation back then. I was always desperately wishing someone would swoop into my life and rescue me. I always felt trapped."

Kurogane's expression darkened at the memory of what had been done to the twins, one of whom was his lover now, and of all the evil machinations that surviving twin had been caught up in and been so powerless to resist. Fai smiled fondly and reassuringly at him, lightly stroking his face again before speaking further.

"Not anymore, of course," the wizard noted, his voice stronger now. The smile on his face quirked up into a sort of mischievous grin. "And I decided a long time ago whom I wanted to be my rescuer. But he's not the type to offer, so I have to ask." The playful smile evened out again into something more serious, and a faint smile touched Kurogane's face as well while he waited for his turn to speak.

"When all this is over, take me with you to Nihon," Fai asked softly, with all his heart in his eyes. He was confident that he was loved, but there was still a gap between becoming lovers and what he truly wanted of this man. "Teach me your language and your ways, and let me always have a place in the life you resume."

"If you would've just waited, I would have asked you," Kurogane said with amusement lacing his tone, and snorted lightly at the look of surprise that flickered over his lover's face. He'd thought of it when they'd first parted from the princess in Clow, but though he'd gotten his revenge and Fai had broken free of his bonds, their quest had not truly been over and it hadn't been time to speak of going home yet.

"Yes, I will take you home with me," Kurogane promised solemnly, and then his tone grew a bit more brisk and practical. "But I'll get you a tutor. I'll be busy and I don't want to waste the time we _do_ have together in teaching you how to string a decent sentence together. Had enough of that in Yama. And your 'place' is going to be by my side and in my bed. I can't offer you marriage; it doesn't work like that, but I can give you that place in my life."

Fai's expression was a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of emotion. He stared and then smiled, gave a breathy laugh that sounded like a sob, quirked his eyebrows up as if in sorrow but then broke into a bright, happy smile. He attempted to speak, to accept or express gratitude or even just to say yay, but no words would come. His heart had leaped up into his throat and jammed there, and he finally gave up on speech and curled up off of his cloak instead to capture his lover's lips in a joyful kiss.

Kurogane met him halfway with a brief chuckle, pressing Fai back down onto their rustling makeshift bed. The kiss shifted from happy to heated almost instantly and soon they were practically attacking each other's mouth, fierce and hungry. The conversation had been distracting as well as decisive, and the kiss picked up where words had left off, so when Kurogane withdrew slightly and then surged forward to bury himself into his lover again, Fai's cry was half pleasure and half surprise.

There was still a sting hidden in the sensations but it was less than negligible. It was nothing. It was part of the pleasure. Unable to articulate anything, Fai let body language take over for speech, and Kurogane seemed to understand him with perfect clarity.

Time ground down and warped, measuring out in breaths and looks, and the universe contracted around them to only contain the gold-green light above and the fallen leaves beneath them. They moved slowly at first, with a pause between each careful joining filled with muffled groans and breathless murmurs. Kurogane nosed at him, and if Fai had any two brain cells still in contact with each other he might have thought to smile at the gesture, so reminiscent of the canine that he sometimes still teasingly insisted Kurogane was. The wizard was too caught up in everything he was experiencing, however, to think of anything beyond getting more closeness and friction and movement.

All the years of watching and wanting and waiting seemed to distill down into this one perfect moment that they'd found, and found each other in. The few minutes spent calling up old memories and exchanging promises for their future had been enough - or perhaps it had been the joy of the promises themselves - to make Fai fully ready for more, and the slow, sweet pace soon picked up.

The pauses and careful breaths lessened and melted away entirely. Red eyes were shuttered closed now, Kurogane trusting to other senses and instinct to tell him all that his lover wanted. There were no undertones of pain in the noises Fai made, or if there were they were drowned out by the pleasure, and when he set his nails into Kurogane's skin it was only and always to draw the other man closer. The blond gasped and moaned and clung to the ninja as if for dear life, setting himself against the ground and the well-muscled arms around him to move into each thrust. Kurogane surged forward to meet each eager lift of Fai's hips, and before long the pace the taller had set was being increased without his realizing it.

As their movements increased in speed and intensity, the little caresses and kisses also burned away like chaff before the roaring flame of greater passion. Pale hands that had been wandering over Kurogane's chest and arms locked down tight around the ninja's neck, and the dark-haired man had his own fingers clenched around a handful of golden hair and digging hard into a slender shoulder. The scattered kisses grew increasingly uncoordinated and random, and the shivers of delight and desire that ran up and down their spines were no longer from sharing warm, wet kisses but instead born of the feel of their breaths, hot and heavy against each other's neck.

It was pleasure so pure and overwhelming that they struggled against it as if it was pain even as they rocked together, over and over, chasing each new sensation as they rode out its predecessor. Fai felt like they'd barely begun and already he could feel release coiling in his gut like a molten snake twisting itself into a knot, tighter and tighter and not to be denied. He was torn between desires; part of him desperate for completion and the other part wanting to make this moment last as long as was humanly possible.

Whatever his romantic ideals might have been for his first intimacy with the man he'd loved for years, his body held sway over the rest of him and the wizard's wishes were stripped down to basic carnal instinct. Even as he gasped out soft denials and pleas, he drove his hips up greedily to increase the impact of each crash of their bodies together. The conflict inside that blond head ceased after the next deep thrust, his brain going into white-out conditions as his lover's rigid member raked across that place within him that had torn a scream from him earlier.

No less pleasurable now than before, that searing stroke made the impassioned wizard utterly wild and wanton. The rhythm they'd built up together faltered and then broke as Fai arched off of the cloak laid out beneath him and cried out in a passion-roughened voice with all the breath left in his lungs. Before he could collapse and tremble and beg shamelessly for more, Kurogane was already slamming in to him again, and the breathless blond made a helpless, choked noise while trying to claw air back into his body. The rough fingers entangled in his hair shook free and then Fai was being pinned down and pressed down and driven absolutely insane.

Once having rediscovered the sweet spot that turned the quick-witted, nimble-tongued wizard into a mindlessly sobbing mess, Kurogane relentlessly pushed the blond closer and closer to the edge. Sweat dripped off of a brow creased in concentration, and dark brows knit fiercely together over red eyes fixed with almost fanatic intensity on the writhing body pinned beneath him. His breaths were hissed out now between gritted teeth and their bodies slapped wetly together, but the sounds were lost in the desperate pleas and broken fragments of the ninja's name that poured ceaselessly from Fai's lips.

Apparently Fai was just _always_ noisy.

They'd waited years for each other and weren't going to last long now that they were finally together in this perfect meeting of hearts and minds and bodies. Fai's voice became increasingly frantic, a jumbled mess of _oh God_ and _yes_ and _Kuro-sama_ finally melting down into a long babble of _pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease_ that Kurogane answered by reaching between their sweat- and lust-slick bodies. He curled his fingers around the wizard's weeping erection and then dragged his hand down in a firm, fast stroke.

Fai was arching back and crying out even as Kurogane raised his hand for another stroke down, the flesh throbbing against his fingers sending hot white fluid spurting over the wizard's torso and dripping over Kurogane's suddenly slippery hand. The sight alone was dangerously arousing, but combined with the way his lover's body clenched hard around his aching member, it was deadly. It didn't matter how badly Kurogane might have wanted to hold off for just one moment longer and concentrate just a few more seconds on wringing every last possible shudder and sob out of his lover; he was lost.

The hand slick with Fai's semen clawed at the fabric they lay upon as Kurogane fell upon the blond as if he was now the vampire and Fai his prey. The ninja convulsively drew his arms around the softly moaning form, dragging cloak and leaves and dirt along without noticing as he anchored the wizard down in his embrace and plunged himself deep into his lover once more. Once more, and once again, and then he cried out as well, a deep groan that seemed to well up from the toes he had dug into the loam of the forest, all the way up a spine so tense it felt like it was about to snap and finally out of a mouth gaping open against his lover's temple. He stayed frozen for what seemed like forever, blind and breathless and feeling as if he might be dying from how good it was. Like it was his very life he was pouring out into Fai's willing body, pulse after pulse.

Kurogane gasped and collapsed onto the man who was now wholly and completely his own, leaning as much as he could on his own elbows so as not to crush the breath out of the already breathless mage. For a long while, all the ninja's mental resources were dedicated to ensuring that his body continued to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, but eventually he became aware of light touches roaming over his skin; smooth fingerpads tracing the bulges and dips of his muscles, nails raking lightly across his scalp, and soft lips and puffs of air ghosting against the side of his face.

"Mmm, Kuro-sama...Kuro-sama..."

The corner of the dark-haired man's mouth quirked up in a little smile, and then he groaned a bit as he forced himself to move. Heaving himself up off of his lover, he set his forearms against the rumpled cloak and began to pull out and away, but the pliant body under him suddenly came more to life and clamped long limbs around him to keep him in place. Fai made a little noise of protest at his attempted escape and Kurogane grunted at the friction on oversensitized skin as he was pulled in close - and _in_ \- again.

"Stay," the blond pleaded and purred. "Kuro-sama's nice and warm."

"That's not actually my name," the six foot five hot water bottle mumbled against his lover's fair hair, after a philosophical shrug and a collapse back down over the lanky mage.

"Do you want me to start calling you Kurogane?" Fai asked, moving his head away a bit to look curiously at the ninja. The wizard had pronounced the man's full name once in Hanshin Kyouwa, just to test the syllables out, but the only times he'd actually called the ninja that was during the cold war that had begun in Tokyo and ended in Celes. The peace talks had been held in Nihon, and had been very short and to the point. Since then, it had mostly been "Kuro-sama", with an occasional "Kuro-tan" or "Kuro-rin" thrown in when the wizard was in an especially light-hearted or teasing mood. Never once "Kurogane".

"That's not actually my name either," the ninja then said, to complete Fai's confusion.

"You're joking."

The ninja chuckled and shook his head slowly, leaning in to transform the gesture into a nuzzle, after which he pressed a soft kiss to the perplexed wizard's lips. He had something to say and pulled away soon enough, putting enough distance between them that he need not cross his eyes to lock gazes and settling himself more comfortably over his lover.

"It's my family name and the one I use for every day," Kurogane explained, growing more serious as he continued, "but I have a true name that my parents gave me, that no one alive knows now except for Tomoyo-Hime." Fai was wide-eyed and still beneath him, knowing he would soon be the second person to have this name to know and waiting in stunned anticipation for what he instinctively knew to be more than just a secret.

Fai hadn't grown up in a culture where true names held great power and were guarded like the greatest treasures or most terrible weaknesses, but still he knew. He'd been born into royalty and title, not the intimacy of whispered names, and yet he knew. He _knew_. Had it seared into his heart. Had shaped his soul with it. It would be an honor, and a responsibility, and an exchange of trust and faith and vulnerability that held so much _meaning_ that he could feel emotion rising up to choke him before he'd even been given the name.

Kurogane watched his lover go quiet and still, barely breathing and just watching and waiting, and the ninja felt a warmth of pride and fulfillment that this so-very-foreign princeling had caught the import of what was about to be conveyed. Despite the differences in their cultures and backgrounds and just about everything that could be used as a basis of comparison, they knew and understood each other with sometimes unnatural clarity. There were still the little blind spots, like how the wizard hadn't understood that he was loved and Kurogane had somehow missed the fact that the blond had a thing for having his hair touched, but the years had done something to them.

Fai's magic resided in Kurogane's right hand. Kurogane's blood sang throughout Fai's being. They'd both taught each other how to really smile. Fai had stopped lying and Kurogane had begun speaking. They'd shared their pasts and had promised their futures to each other. Kurogane had helped put Fai's past to rest, and Fai had helped Kurogane find his way back to the paths of true strength and desire to protect that his parents had tried to show him all those years ago. They'd poured their souls out into one vessel, mingled them together and then partaken of each other's strengths, diluted each other's weaknesses, and become inseparable.

"My name is Youou," the dark-haired man said in a measured tone, pronouncing the name carefully and clearly so that the other man need not ask to have it repeated. He watched his lover take it in and roll the sound around in his head a few times before carefully trying it out.

"Youou," the wizard breathed softly, and the awed, wondering, _loving_ look on the smaller man's face enchanted Kurogane utterly and made him break into a smile. True names really did have amazing powers.

Kurogane leaned in to drop a gentle kiss onto those softly parted lips below him, feeling as if he were about to seal a ceremony with that simple little gesture. He'd promised his lover a home and a homeland, bound their futures together and shared his true name. There was no need for more words. He felt no need to caution or explain to the man that his true name was not to be spoken save in these intimate moments when they were utterly alone; the wizard understood. Nothing more needed to be said, except for one last thing.

"Yuui," Kurogane whispered reverently, his mouth so close already to his lover's that their lips brushed as he spoke, and after he let the smooth syllables fall from him all he had to do was close his mouth gently to nip at the blond's lower lip. It was a declaration and a promise both that drew a gasp like a sob from the wizard before he pressed upward to seal their mouths more firmly together.

The kiss was comparatively simple, but after the intimacy of all that they'd just shared with each other, was more rousing than it had any right to be. The blond drew away after a few minutes, breathing hard, and raised an eyebrow at the feel of his lover's renewed interest stirring against his hip.

"My my," Fai chuckled, and wriggled in a way that had Kurogane grunting and pressing down on the mage in a completely counter-effective attempt to make the man hold still.

"Later," Kurogane ground out between gritted teeth. "Inn, shower, _food_ , and then you can talk to me about that 'slow and sweet' you mentioned earlier."

"Inn, shower and food," the blond agreed with a smile and nod, and then lifted a hand to caress the ninja's cheek fondly. "And Kuro-sama?"

"Yeah?"

"Cut my hair for me."

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following prompt at the CLAMPkink community on Dreamwidth:  
>  _Kurogane finds out Fai **likes** to have his hair touched, played with, and fingers running through it. Puke-worthy romantic love-making ftw. Kuro-top Fai-bottom, please._
> 
> I took the "puke-worthy" part to heart and tried to lay on as much sweet fluff as I could without killing the characters.


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